I’m at the San Diego Zoo! Since Rachel loves pandas so much, lucinator thought we might find her here at the Giant Panda Research Station.
This nice lady is Peg. She talks to all the people who come to the research station so I asked if she saw Rachel. Unfortunately, since there were so many people coming through, she didn’t remember seeing Rachel.
I saw Su Lin playing with her mom, Bai Yun, so I asked them if they saw Rachel. I don’t think they heard me though, since I was using my “quiet voice”.
Wait, Su Lin heard me! Unfortunately, she didn’t see Rachel either.
When we left the research station, I was hungry so we stopped for dinner.
This poster brought back memories of my first year, when Rachel first started watching me.
I climbed up this tree to look for Rachel but I didn’t see her anywhere.
Lucinator took me into this building where I found lots of cousins! I heard that there’s a place in China just like this.
One of my cousins decided to come with us his name is Mei Mei.. I like it because it reminds me of my mom’s name.
As we walked around, I saw these birds. They remind me of Rachel’s friend, miri, so I took a picture with them!
Unfortunately, we didn’t find Rachel so it was time to leave the zoo. I hope I find her soon!
September 23, 2006 at 8:13 pm | Travels | No Comments
I heard that there was going to be a party in Vegas to watch the premiere of the new season of Rachel’s favorite show: The Amazing Race. Since I was staying with miri and she was headed out to the party, I thought I’d go along. We got there and met lucinator in the airport. Here I am on her suitcase.
After settling in to the hotel room, lucinator and miri decided to get some dinner and stroll around a bit. We ran across this total faker at the foot of an elevator. He didn’t impress me - I’ve been to the real Elvis’ house.
miri saw this flamingo in a store window. After I tested it out, she decided to buy it.
Then I saw a purse that reminded me of my Rachel! I wish I’d had enough money to buy it for her.
Next, I rocked it up a bit - playing guitar and singing a duet.
After the song, I tripped and fell. I really wasn’t trying to look up Marilyn’s skirt - honest!
I think these guys misunderstood my trip and tried to protect Marilyn’s honor. Help me!
I managed to escape and got lost on the casino floor. I tried my luck with the Daily Double Spin & Win, but I’m too small to spin the wheel.
Next up, I tried a Star Wars slot machine, but it was out of order. Perhaps I’m not a gambler at heart.
Very early the next morning (did I mention it was very early?), miri, lucinator, Tribefan, PepeNY and myself all took a bus tour to the Grand Canyon. 10 hours is a lot of time to spend on a bus. I did my best to pass the time - visiting with the ladies, watching the scenery, getting some alone time and reading a book with PepeNY.
We stopped for lunch and had a run-in with an outlaw! I had a flashback to my time with Steve and Dave.
After more time on the bus, we stopped at a souvenir place. I met some cute cousins and one scary one!
I tried on a fur hat and, despite the fact that I looked most dapper in it, it just didn’t seem right, you know? I can only go so far in my quest to impress Rachel.
There’s such a thing as a jackalope? Who knew!?
Riding horses is fun!
I checked the post office for a letter from Rachel, but nothing was there. It looks like the PO doubles as a doctor’s office for “man or beast.” I talked to the doctor and he said there was no cure for a broken heart.
I had to take a few minutes to think and ponder what to do after hearing that my heart can’t be healed by medicine. I guess that means I only have two choices: give up and go home or soldier on. I chose to continue my quest!
I started to look for items at the store that could help me get to and bring Rachel home. Maybe I can lasso her!
Wouldn’t this make a cute little home for two?
How long would it take to get to Canada in a wagon?
Too long. I decide to try a helicopter and go with miri, PepeNY and lucinator. They say we are going to the Grand Canyon - a big hole in the ground. I’m hoping I can talk the pilot into forgetting about the stupid hole and take me to Rachel.
Okay, I have to admit, the Grand Canyon was pretty cool. The pilot, however, was mean and wouldn’t take me to Canada.
We got back on to the bus and went to a place called “The South Rim” - turns out, it’s another place to look at the hole. I wanted some new reading material for the way home.
Oh, okay. The hole still looks cool from here.
And I got to share the view with some good people. Don’t worry, Rachel, they were no substitute for you.
By the end of the trip, I was actually sad to say good-bye to the Grand Canyon. Either that, or I wasn’t looking forward to the long bus ride back to the hotel.
The next day, we went to Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin habitat at the Mirage hotel. I’m kind of glad the only Siegfried and Roy that were on hand were the ones in this mural - the real guys look a little freaky.
I guess some of their prize tigers heard me thinking freaky thoughts - I was mauled!
I decided it would be safer to hang out by the dolphin pools. They are cute and wouldn’t hurt a panda.
After a tasty lunch at In and Out Burger, we went to Red Rock Canyon. Pinkgodzilla showed me how to get to the hiking path.
I’m not really much of a hiker though. Instead, I just enjoyed the view and soaked up some sun.
As we were leaving the park, I saw a tree called a Joshua Tree. I think I remember hearing that Rachel had strong feelings for a man named Bono and that he once posed for a photograph near a Joshua Tree. So, I made the ladies stop the car and I did my best Bono impersonation. Do you think this will win Rachel’s heart?
Finally, that evening was the party for The Amazing Race! I’d missed Rachel all over and around Vegas, but she’d certainly be at the party. I hung around Brennan for awhile since I know Rachel likes him a lot. In fact, I’ve seen a picture of her grabbing his ass. I decided to give it a try.
Hmm. Didn’t do much for me. I must admit, Joni’s tweaking was more to my liking.
Oh no! That meanie Dave is here! He doesn’t like me at all. I guess that means I don’t have to feel bad about not liking him.
I also got to meet Doyin. He sat at our table and was hungry as a bear - so we hit it off quite well.
But then it was time to leave Vegas…and still no Rachel.
September 19, 2006 at 10:18 pm | Travels | No Comments
miri said that she was too busy to show me much of the city. She had to go to work all day and then work on a special project all night. I decided to go into her office with her because, well, have you seen her house? It’s scary!
Here I am with miri’s boss, Darra. She brought over Ursa - a little representation of her dog. We hung out for a bit.
I found a plastic bin on Darra’s desk. It reminded me of when I was little and they used to measure my growth via little bins. So, I decided to relive my past.
Darra put me to work. I answered a support call. I don’t know if they liked the answer I gave them, though.
Bamboo! Darra had bamboo on her desk. Yum!
It was construction day at work. miri said some of the construction noises sounded like angry elephants. They reminded me of home. Here I am helping out by moving stuff around.
After all that work, I decided to hang out at miri’s desk for awhile. She has some cool magnets at her desk.
I asked Mulder and Scully if they could help me find Rachel. Mulder said he only would if Rachel was an alien and besides, he was still on the “why does Scully have huge man-hands” case. Scully just rolled her eyes and walked away.
I frolicked in the flamingo garden.
And played at being King Kong.
Hung out with the very cool (and very evil) Feathers McGraw.
I was attacked by an evil pastel octopus! It was horrifying.
miri was supposed to take me with her to San Antonio. But, despite the fact that I spent most of the day hanging on to her purse so she wouldn’t forget me (okay, so it also served as a great hiding place from the octopus), she forgot me. So, I was stuck in her cubicle all weekend. Luckily, I had some new panda friends to play with!
September 10, 2006 at 10:53 pm | Travels | No Comments
I arrived at miri’s just in time for Bat Fest. Seems that Austin is home to America’s largest urban bat colony. They sleep under this big bridge during the day and at sunset, they fly out to go hunting for bugs to eat. People come from all over to watch the bats fly out. Every year, they have a festival on the bridge to celebrate the bats.
On the way there, miri and her friend Jess stopped to eat some dinner.
The place was also a Russian grocery store - for some reason, the name of this item reminded me of my Rachel.
Here’s a big bat statue at the entrance to the bridge.
Hey, it’s Robin and Batman! After this picture, miri mumbled something about, “the not so ambiguously drunk duo.”
Here I am pretending to be a bat.
Bat themed stuff to buy was everywhere. This is a neat little bat sculpture someone had made.
I posed on a Harley. The guys were full of attitude when we asked if I could sit on the bike. miri thought it was silly that they were so full of themselves when they were performing karaoke. I think I make the bike look cool. It would look cooler if I had my babe Rachel on the bike with me.
September 10, 2006 at 10:36 pm | Travels | No Comments
